Please join us for the second of a special series of Phone Watch events in the run up to Christmas 2011!
RNIB has teamed up with O2 to host our Phone Watch events at the new Workshop at O2 Tottenham Court Road, London, the largest O2 store in the UK. This new flagship store provides a range of services for consumers and businesses and all of the staff have been trained by RNIB in Sight Loss Awareness. RNIB's Digital Accessibility Team have also trained staff about the latest accessibility features built-into the current range of mainstream phones and relevant apps for blind and partially sighted users.
Event details
On the night, we'll be giving some short overview talks of the different mobile phone choices available for blind and partially sighted users and giving you the chance to get hands on with the latest handsets including the new iPhone 4S which features improved built-in voice recognition technology. We'll also be letting you know about the latest accessibility improvements in Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich".
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Date: 8th November 2011
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Time: 5.30 pm - 7.30 pm
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Location: O2, Unit 62, 229 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7QG
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Room: Seminar Room (Basement)
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Cost: Free
If you can't make it along to this event, check out our calendar of consumer events for details of future events being held by RNIB and Action for Blind People.
Session agenda
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An overview of the accessibility features built into the iPhone and iPad.
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iPhone 4S / iOS 5 - what's new?
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Highlighting some useful iPhone / iPad apps for blind and partially sighted users.
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An overview of Mobile Accessibility for Android phones.
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Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" - what accessibility improvements can we expect to see?
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An overview of the Clarity Theme for BlackBerry® smartphones and other built-in low vision settings.
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An overview of TALKS / Mobile Speak for Symbian based Nokia phones.
How to book
To book your place, please contact the event organiser, Andrew Ronksley, by phone or email.
Places are limited so please book as soon as possible!
Background to RNIB's Phone Watch events
The accessibility of mobile phones and devices has generated a lot of interest amongst blind and partially sighted users in recent times. Compared to 5 or 6 years ago, the choice of accessible phones has now significantly improved.
As we stand in 2011, there are now more mobile phones in the UK than there are people. The range of handsets, talk plans and downloadable applications available is quite staggering. Today, many people are now using their mobile phones for much more than just calls and texts. Surfing the internet, reading eBooks, playing music, keeping track of calendars and tasks and satellite navigation are just some of the various uses now commonplace.
In addition to 3rd party screen reading and screen magnification solutions for Symbian based Nokia phones, we now have the iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S from Apple which have screen reader and screen magnification software built-in, thereby providing access straight out of the box at no extra cost. There are also accessibility solutions available and others in development for Google Android based smartphones and Blackberry devices from Research In Motion. With all these options and mobile technology evolving continuously at a rapid pace, it is extremely important for blind and partially sighted users to understand all the alternatives available to them to make an informed choice.
Phone Watch is an initiative from RNIB which aims to share developments in mobile technology with blind and partially sighted users. A highly interactive, hands on experience with the latest mobile devices and accessibility software is a key element of these sessions. Industry experts are also invited to attend and speak about forthcoming innovations in mobile accessibility. We'll also aim to provide useful information and tips on how to make the most of your current phone's capabilities. Since the sessions are highly interactive, participants are also encouraged to exchange ideas and information which could perhaps be documented to benefit other users with visual impairments.
As part of our Inclusive Society Programme, we want more blind and partially sighted people to be able to confidently use mobile technology. To help us achieve this, we're currently working with manufacturers and software developers from across the mobile industry. Phone Watch is one way of allowing us to keep abreast of users' needs, enabling us to keep a finger on the pulse of current consumer experiences and gather important feedback for future developments.